Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-124)

[Mesosphere]

the space shuttle discovery crew , set to land tommorow have had an encounter with a 1.0 to 1.5 foot rectangular object while making checks today , what's more , it left a bump on the rear end of the shuttle , was it a sattellite , space debris? i don't know , ground crews are currently looking through images and data to find out what it was.

more info : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

EDIT (1651 BST) : no aliens i'm afraid folks , NASA engineers have just announced that the object was a metal clip for the shuttle braking system , and is not of major concern

info :- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080613/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

MODERATORS FEEL FREE TO DELETE THIS!

[grab my graupel]

No, those are OK calum :huh:

I'm not sure that I would feel too comfortable travelling home on the space Shuttle, knowing that there are

parts missing. They most have a lot of trust in the people who make these sort of decisions.

[SP1986]

No, those are OK calum :huh:

I'm not sure that I would feel too comfortable travelling home on the space Shuttle, knowing that there are

parts missing. They most have a lot of trust in the people who make these sort of decisions.

I agree Brian! Without doubt a piece of debris or space junk was probably the culprit! edit: just seen the correction.

[Mesosphere]

yeah it could have been anything , NASA have said that in the past objects have become disloged from the shuttle or it's payload bay , so it must be quite common

[Mesosphere]

there's also a chance that it was part of the shuttle's heat shield breaking off , which i hope is not the case , or sadly we will have a repeat of the columbia disaster in 2003 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Disaster

Let's hope Discovery and her crew make a safe return to earth tommorow , to reassure everyone NASA have also stated that discovery is in "ship shape" and they are still on course for a 1615 BST landing tommorow

[grab my graupel]

there's also a chance that it was part of the shuttle's heat shield breaking off , which i hope is not the case , or sadly we will have a repeat of the columbia disaster in 2003 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Disaster

Let's hope Discovery and her crew make a safe return to earth tommorow , to reassure everyone NASA have also stated that discovery is in "ship shape" and they are still on course for a 1615 BST landing tommorow

Thanks Calum. I will make sure that I watch that

Lets hope and pray that everyone arrives home safely.

[Mesosphere]

Space Shuttle Discovery and her 7 crew members are just 2 hours away from landing on runway 15 at the kennedy space centre , florida

if the first landing oppurtunity at 1615 BST is called off they have a 2nd oppurtunity at 1750 BST

A de-orbit burn , which allows the shuttle to leave it's orbit and re-enter earths atmosphere will be conducted in around 45 mins (approx). Good weather is currently forecasted for the landing. They will conduct there de-orbit burn on orbit 217 , just to tell everyone we have around 20 mins till Space Shuttle discovery passes right above southern england , in all areas south of london.

p.s don't try and look for it! , it's not visible during the day

[Snowly does it]

Thred title altered at the thread starters request

[Mesosphere]

i'm going to offer complete landing coverage this afternoon :-

Latest Info :

30 Mins remain now until the de-orbit burn , at mission control (Houston) flight director Richard Jones is preparing to make the go - no go desicion for de-orbit burn which is coming up at 1510 BST , the CAPCOM (communicator to the shuttle) will inform the crew of this descion.

EDIT (1454 BST)

Discovery is now go for de-orbit burn , this means the shuttle will begin entering the atmosphere soon , this is the ending of the 123rd shuttle mission

[Mesosphere]

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY HAS SUCCSESSFULLY LANDED , WRAPPING UP A 14 DAY MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

The 7 crew members are back safe and sound on earth , they are :-

Commander Mark Kelly

Pilot Ken Ham

Mission Specialist Karen Nyberg

Mission Specialist Ronald Garan

Mission Specialist Mike Fossum

Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide

ISS Crew Member Garret Reisman

Image of Landing

[grab my graupel]

Brilliant